Portuguese Prime Minister marks the start of the commemorations of José Saramago’s centenary On the day when the writer would be 99 years old, the tale 'The Biggest Flower in[...]

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The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa marked the start of José Saramago's one hundredth anniversary commemorations at the Fernando Casimiro Pereira da Silva school in Rio Maior, together with the Minister of Education, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues.

The visit was highlighted by reading an excerpt of the "Letter to Grandmother Josepha" from the tale "The Biggest Flower in the World, a moment held simultaneously in more than 300 Portuguese schools, 40 on the Canary Islands, and hundreds throughout the world, namely in Latin American countries.

In a speech to the adults, António Costa noted the fact that there are many writers who write in Portuguese, but awarding José Saramago a Nobel prize was "a great happiness" and "a reason of pride for Portugal"

Referring to the excerpt "Letter to Grandmother Josepha", the Prime Minister said that the school's greatest function is to make sure "that no one can take the world from you" and that "the world is yours". As for the book "The Biggest Flower in the World, António Costa stated its message is quite current and relates to climate change.

In his speech, António Costa also thanked the work done by the Fernando Casimiro Pereira da Silva group of schools, one of the groups whose teaches most contributed to the "Study at Home" initiative to help students when schools were shut during the pandemic